PREVIEW: Crew vs. Rapids

A pair of teams coming off impressive victories meet at Dick’s Sporting
Goods Park when the Colorado Rapids play host to the Columbus Crew on
FOX Soccer Night in America. The Rapids return home after becoming the
first team to win at Philadelphia Union in a 2-1 win last Friday night.
The Columbus Crew became just the third team in an MLS league game to
come away with a victory at Rio Tinto Stadium when they defeated Real
Salt Lake 2-0 last weekend.

The Rapids took the lead after just five minutes, when Conor Casey
executed a perfect snap header from Jamie Smith’s corner kick.

But the Crew were in the lead not long after. Eddie Gaven took the
ball from Scott Palguta at midfield and went solo to the penalty area
before cutting right and sliding a shot inside the far netting in the
12th minute. Then Andres Mendoza took advantage of an errant back pass
in the 18th minute and rocketed an 18-yarder off the crossbar and into
the net.

The match turned for good in the 29th minute when Casey was sent off
by referee Andrew Chapin after lunging for a 50-50 ball with William
Hesmer as the Crew goalkeeper went to the ground.

The Crew broke the game open after the break. Defender Chad Marshall’s
clearance from in front of goal bounced over Rapids defender Kosuke
Kimura near midfield, and Mendoza raced in alone, ripping a snap shot
from 18 yards (47).

Then nine minutes later, a Gaven cross from the right side deflected
off Tyrone Marshall and fell kindly to Tommy Heinemann. His one-time
shot bounced once, but goalkeeper Matt Pickens could only get a piece of
the shot before it trickled in over the line.

The Colorado Rapids extended their unbeaten streak to a modest three
games, coming away from PPL Park with a 2-1 victory against Philadelphia
Union on Friday evening. The Rapids have 34 points from 24 games,
sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference.

LAST MATCH

The Rapids took the lead on 35 minutes. A throw-in from winger Brian
Mullan found Pablo Mastroeni, and he made a neat cutback move to shed a
defender before smashing a strike into the upper left corner.

Then, right before the halftime whistle, Colorado doubled its lead.
Omar Cummings dribbled up the center of the field on a counterattack and
made a sharp through pass to fellow speedster Sanna Nyassi, who zipped
past the Union defense and lashed home a low shot inside the area.

Union’s comeback hopes took a turn for the worse in the 64th minute
when Sheanon Williams received two yellow cards in short order after
disputing a call.

But in stoppage time, the hosts pulled a goal back when Roger Torres
took a long ball at the edge of the area and skipped his way through
three defenders before hooking a shot high into the right corner of the
goal.

Rapids head coach Gary Smith made two changes to the team that played
to a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution at Dick’s Sporting Goods
Park. Tyrone Marshall came into the back four for Scott Palguta and Omar
Cummings started up top in place of Caleb Folan.

Sanna Nyassi has scored four goals in the last three games for the
Rapids, all since being put into the starting lineup as a striker.

“Sanna looks so lively at the minute,” Rapids coach Gary Smith said.
“It is a different role for Omar and there are flashes of very good
play, but he is still getting used to that lone role. … The pair of them
are getting involved in moments that change the course of events. Those
moments are what everybody is striving for, those flashes of
brilliance. I’d rather have those game-winning goals than stocking
fillers when you are already 3-0 up.”

In the two games where Nyassi and Omar Cummings have formed Colorado’s
strike partnership, they’ve created four of the Rapids’ six goals.
Cummings has assisted on all four of Nyassi’s goals.

“It’s crazy. We lost our most prolific striker who time and time again
has delivered for this club,” Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni said.
“Conor’s injury provides someone else with an opportunity and it was
[head coach Gary Smith’s] ability to assess the situation and give Sanna
the chance and he has stolen it and run with it.”

After going nearly three months with just two victories – after
winning the first three games of the season – the Rapids have won three
times in the last five games and have lost just once in that span.

“I think the season’s more of a marathon than a sprint and you know
you’re going to encounter lulls and you’re going to encounter very high
moments,” Mastroeni said. “I think this is just a catalyst to
essentially point us in the right direction.”

For a second match in a row, the Rapids saw an opposition player sent off.

“We did that last week against New England. We went up 2-1 when they
were a man down and we didn’t hold on for the win, but this time we
did,” said goalkeeper Matt Pickens. “Now we got the three (points)
instead of the one point last week, so I guess you can say we kind of
learned from that game against New England.”

COLUMBUS CREW

The Columbus Crew won for the second time in as many games, defeating
Real Salt Lake 2-0 on Saturday evening at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Crew
have 34 points from 22 games on the season, alone in first place in the
Eastern Conference.

LAST MATCH

The Crew took the lead after just five minutes. Robbie Rogers skipped
through a pair of RSL defenders on the left and sent a centering pass to
a wide-open Eddie Gaven, who easily slotted the ball past diving
goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

Then five minutes, Columbus doubled its lead. Rogers again played
provider, lifting a cross from the left flank to forward Tommy
Heinemann, who headed home inside the right-hand post.

Crew head coach Robert Warzycha made one change to the team that
defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 at Crew Stadium. Justin Meram started
up top in place of Jeff Cunningham.

Robbie Rogers recorded his first two-assist game of the season,
collecting his first assist since April 1 in the 2-0 win against Real
Salt Lake.

"I think he caught Robbie Russell by surprise a bit in the first 10
minutes. We always talk about the final pass and today the final pass
was there," said Crew head coach Robert Warzycha.

Rogers was involved in more than one goal in a game for the first time
since Aug. 8. 2009, when he had a goal and an assist in the second half
against San Jose.

“It was a bit surprising to be honest,” Rogers said. “We wanted to get
after them and put them on their heels. They’re a very good defensive
team and we talked about really testing them. They came out a little
slow and if we went after them hard we could punish them. They were
giving me time to turn and go after them.”

In his second game in goal replacing the injured William Hesmer, Andy Gruenebaum recorded a second consecutive shutout.

Rookie Justin Meram made just his second MLS start, his first as a
striker, when he partnered Tommy Heinemann in attack. Heinemann was
making his second consecutive start after going to the bench for three
games.

“We played very good, especially early in the game when we switched
the point of attack and opened up the game with our speed and good
thinking,” Warzycha said. “The key was making the field bigger when he
had the ball, going from one side to the other side and [Justin] Meram
and Tommy fighting for the balls. They did a good job.”

The Crew did not score a goal in the opening 45 minutes until May 18
this season, and still have scored a league-low six goals in the first
half (tied with Toronto FC), but hit for two goals before the break for
the second time this season.

"There's still a lot of soccer to be played, obviously, but we
definitely feel good about the win. The way this team is going right
now, being able to come here and get a win and getting the win last week
at home, the team is playing well, so we just got to keep on going,"
Eddie Gaven said.